Devices for setting up telephone and the like poles



Dec. 6, 1955 K. o. MAENPAA DEVICES FOR SETTING UP TELEPHONE AND THE LIKEPOLES Filed ma 8, 1953 Kaila Oiva Maahpaa.

' IN ENTOR CZMMLQ W ATTORNEYS DEVICES FOR SETTING UP TELEPHONE AND THELIKE POLES Kalle Oiva Miienpiiii, Hameen Laani, Lamrni, Kirkonkyla,Finland Application May 8,1953, Serial No. 353,769

Claims priority, application Finland May 26, 1952 3 Claims. (Cl. 214-3)This invention concerns an improved device for the setting up oftelephone or the like poles of substantial girth and weight in pits orholes previously prepared for the reception thereof.

Telephone poles, poles for carrying electricity supply power cables andso forth are, by their very nature, bulky, weighty and cumbersomeobjects to handle and if handled by an insufiicient number of personnel,can prove dangerous should they slip or fallwhen being raised from orlowered into the ground.

It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide a devicefor the setting up of such poles, which will provide a safe and reliablemeans for the handling thereof.

The economics of the telephone, electricity distribution and otherindustries where overhead lines must be carried by a series of spacedpoles, are greatly affected by the number and size of poles required,and in turn, upon the number of personnel required when such poles areinitially to be set up.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a means forsimplifying such operations and reducing the number of personnelrequired to handle individual poles.

It is a still further object of the invention to accomplish suchsimplification by means of sheer legs and a windlass, the latter beingdetachedly carried by the pole itself.

The features of my invention which I believe to be novel and patentableare set forth with particularity in the appended claims. My inventionitself, however, to-

gether with further objects and advantages thereof, will be understoodin detail by a reference to the following description and to theaccompanying drawing, which shows a typical preferred embodiment of myinvention, and which is, in fact, a general perspective view of thelifting device carrying a pole intended to be lowered into a previouslyprepared pit or hole.

The lifting device includes a pair of sheer legs 2, 3, which are pivotedat their upper ends 4, and at their lower ends are sharply pointed thebetter to enable them to engage with the ground. To prevent the sheerlegs 2, 3 from sinking too deeply into the ground under the weight of apole, the regions of these legs immediately above the tapered ends areprovided with flanges or plates 5 and 6, fixedly secured to said legsand adapted securely to abut the ground. The legs 2 and 3 may be of anysuitable material, for example, of steel, and moreover may be of anyrequired shape, such as tubular. It will be understood, of course, thatif the device is intended primarily for lifting relatively light weightpoles, the sheer legs 2 and 3 may be of a light weight material, such asaluminium alloy. Again, where an exceptionally rigid and strongstructure is required, the legs 2 and 3 may each comprise severalseparate parallel tubes suitably spaced apart and joined together at theends.

Around a pulley 7 freely secured to the pivot 4 of the legs 2 and 3, ispassed a rope, chain or the like 11, to one end of which is secured afurther pulley 8 from which depends a hook 9.

A windlass 12, comprising a shaft rotatable by means of a handle 15 anddisposed between two end plates 12a spaced apart as by spacer bars 16,17, is secured to the pole 1 at the base region thereof by means of twoloop members or ties 13, 14, of rope, cable, chain or the like. The endsof the loop members 13, 14 are secured to the end plates 12a on eitherside of the pulley 1 by means of lugs 20, through which may be passedmeans detachably engageable with said end plates.

The free end of the rope 11 is then passed around the windlass shaft andsecured thereto. The windlass 12 is located on the pole 1 at a pointsufliiciently above the bottom end thereof to ensure that, when saidbottom end is lowered into the previously prepared pit or hole 18, saidwindlass will still remain just clear of the ground. The hole 18 may beprotected by an upright board or plate 19.

A further loop member or tie 10, detachably arranged around the pole anddisplaced from the centre of gravity towards the upper end of the pole,is engaged by the hook 9 of the pulley 8.

In use, the bottom end of the pole 1 is placed slightly projecting overthe hole or pit 18. The hook 9 is engaged with the previously arrangedloop member or tie 10, and the sheer legs 2 and 3 are set up at asuitable distance rearwardly of the said loop member or tie. Thewindlass 12 having been secured by means of the loop members 13, 14 tothe pole 1, the handle 15 is rotated by the operator, and the pole 1will begin to rise, with its lower end bearing on the edge of the hole18. Ultimately, the pole will assume a substantially vertical positionand at or rather before this instant, the sheer legs 2 and 3 mayusefully be tilted somewhat backwardly by means of a rope fastenedthereto. The pole 1 is thus raised into a position where it will slipfreely through loop members 10, 13 and 14 to occupy its intendedposition in the pit or hole 18.

The device, according to the invention, may be efl'iciently employed byonly two operators, the one attending to the operation of the windlassand the other guiding the pole during the raising thereof.

It will be understood, of course, that the windlass 12 may be providedwith a reduction gear disposed between the manual handle 15 and theshaft on which the rope or the like 11 is wound, and such shaft mayindeed itself be in the form of a drum. Similarly a brake may beprovided, acting for example on the reduction gear and enabling a bettercontrol of the pole to be effected during lifting thereof. Again,although the loop members 13 and 14 have been described as beingdetachably fastened at their ends to the plates 12a, they may, in fact,be

permanently fastened to these plates, and may be broken instead at apoint intermediate their ends, as by a quick release locking device.

In general, therefore, although I have herein shown and described apreferred embodiment of my invention, it'is manifestly capable ofmodification and variations without departing from the scope and spiritthereof. I do not, therefore, wish to be understood as limiting thisinvention to the precise embodiment herein disclosed, except as I may beso limited by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A device for setting up, in holes previously prepared in the ground,poles of substantial girth and weight, in-

cluding a pair of sheer legs, a first pulley means carried by said legs,a second pulley means, a tie member releasably secured around a pole ata region above the centre of gravity thereof, said second pulley meansbeing engageable with said tie member, a windlass secured detaehably tothe base region of said pole, and a rope carried by said Windlass, thefree end of said rope passing over both of said pulley means and beingfixed with respect to one of said pulley means, the effective length ofsaid rope being varied by operation of said Windlass whereby operationof said Windlass to shorten the effective length of said rope iseffective to raise said pole towards a vertical position.

2. A device for setting up, in holes previously prepared in the ground,poles of substantial girth and weight, including a pair of sheer legs, apivot at the upper ends of said legs and joining said legs together, afirst pulley secured freely to said pivot, a second pulley, a bookcarried by said second pulley, a flexible loop member engageable arounda pole in a region above the centre of gravity thereof, said hook beingengageable with said loop member, a Windlass comprising two spaced endplates and a shaft rotatable therebetween, two further flexible loopmembers adapted to encircle said pole and detachably secured at each oftheir ends to said end plates to secure said Windlass to said pole atthe base region thereof, a rope secured at one end to and carried bysaid rotatable shaft and at the other end passing through said secondpulley, up to and over said first pulley and finally secured to saidsecond pulley, whereby operation of said Windlass will cause theeflective length of said rope to be shortened, and said pole to beraised to an upright position.

3. A device for setting up, in holes previously prepared in the ground,poles of substantial girth and weight, including a pair of sheer legspivotally connected together at the upper ends thereofisaid legs eachbeing tapered at their lower ends to enable them firmly to engage withthe ground, flange plates secured to said lower ends to determine thedepth of their engagement with the ground, a first pulley secured freelyto said pivot, a second pulley, a hook carried by said second pulley, aflexible loop member engageable around a pole in a region above thecentre of gravity thereof, said hook being engageable with said loopmember, a Windlass comprising two spaced end plates and a shaftrotatable therebetween, two further flexible loop members detachablysecured at each end thereof to said end plates to secure said Windlassto said pole at the base region thereof, a rope secured at one end toand carried by said rotatable shaft and at the other end passing throughsaid second pulley, up to and over said first pulley and finally securedto said second pulley, whereby operation of said Windlass will cause theeffective length .of said rope to be shortened, and said pole to beraised to an upright position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,574,147 Franklin Feb. 23, 1926

